14 - The Desert of the Undead

[ZaCloud]

Mourning, Evening, Night

************

Edos Lee, looking drawn and haggard, closed his eyes and stood, shoulders slumped. Moira's anguished howls spread over the desert sands like the crimson light of the setting sun. The blond woman was clutching Robert, her cries muffled against his unmoving chest. Lee started to lower his left hand to her shoulder, but stopped when he saw it, too, was crimson; he had done all he could to operate on the wound in Robert's abdomen, but the damage had been too severe. Even with better conditions and instruments, his chances had been slim. But that did not make the loss any less heavy, especially to the woman who loved him.

Lee straightened, still staring at his bloody hand, then closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, brow creased. “I am sorry...” he said quietly, before walking away and sitting against a petrified tree at the edge of the scraggly grove. He folded his arms, hands hanging open past his elbows, resting his forehead on his forearms. He had no actual regrets; he had given his all. But losing one more of his men pained him.

“Shit... shit... SHIT!” Jason screamed, jerking his fists at his sides, beginning to pace back and forth, throwing his head every few syllables, violet hair amplifying the motions. “That's fucked UP, man! That's fucked UP! Why fuckin' Robby, man? Why Robby?”

Chad, the green-haired and pierced secretary, set a hand on his shoulder. “I dunno dude...”

“Don't touch me!” Jason roared, swinging his arm and forcing the surprised Chad back several steps, “Just don't, ok? Not right now...” He rubbed his hands harshly over his face, then clutched his hair, heading several steps away from the others. “Goddamn it! Son of a bitch...”

The others were quiet, either grim or tearful. Raksha was kneeling by Moira, stroking her hair, at first ignored as the lighter woman continued to tearfully gaze at her dead fiancé's face. Then a new wave of sobs tore through her, and she clung to Raksha, desperately accepting the offered comfort.

“First my family, then Kev and Lindsey, and probably Saxton...” Jason snarled and grabbed his qiang from against the nearby tree, and began to stab furious furrows into the dusty ground. “If Rob couldn't live, who the hell else could in there?!” His jabbing faltered for a bit, his shoulders heaving, face full of anger which began to give way to despair. “I was hoping... was hoping that if he... then... shit!” He punctuated the swear with another hard impact against the ground. Then, after panting for a few more seconds, he resumed his attack, but now more purposefully, his expression taut.

And a few others, including one barely-showing blond shadow with his knife, and a grizzled but muscular man in overalls with a pitchfork, began to gravely work in the same area. Chad moved forward to help move the lose dirt out with his hands.

At the other end of their temporary base-camp, Edwin, the treasurer, had approached Lee, standing off to his right, his pudgy arms crossed against his tan blazer. “You did your best, boss,” he reflected gently.

“It's not just Robert,” Lee said quietly, “We lost many. So many... And not just us. Everyone. This worn city we tried to protect... This dirty city we were slowly cleaning... It is gone. Not only what it was... but also what it could have been.”

Edwin's gray eyes looked wistful as he took this in, and he lowered his head, then pushed his glasses back up his nose as they slid down. “Yes... You've always been one to--”

“HE'S ALIVE!” Moira cried out excitedly, “Robby's alive!”

Everyone jerked their heads in the direction of the fallen and the two women around him. Sure enough, Robert, propped up in his girlfriend's lap, was groaning and reaching up, resting his hand on Moira's tear-streaked face. She was leaning over him, her tears now those of immeasurable joy. “Oh, Robby,” she whispered tenderly, “We'll help you, ok? You'll be alright sweetie.”

She leaned her head down and kissed him. His lips, in turn, curled around hers. Then she made a shocked sound in her throat, eyes opening and confused. She tried to pull away. But Robert had his teeth clamped on her lower lip. He ground down, crunching, blood gathering visibly on her flesh. “R-Rovvy?!” she squealed in pain and horror. Robert grabbed onto her head firmly, as she tried in vain to fit her fingers between his teeth.

“What the hell?!” Raksha burst, trying to help pry the man's jaws open, first with her hands, then with the blade of her knife. “Robby, are you confused? You're hurting Moira!” She managed to work her blade in mid-chew, and Moira tried to jerk away, but Robert's hands gripped her hair firmly. Raksha made the decision and drew another knife with her free hand, as the other kept the jaw from closing completely.

“Robert,” she said firmly, “Let go or I'll cut you.” He only snarled, pivoting his head to evade the current blade on his teeth, then diving at Moira's chin, teeth ripping into flesh again. Moira screamed. Raksha stabbed Robert in the cheek.

He roared and looked at Raksha. That was when she saw his eyes. They were devoid of anything human. Robert was gone. In his place was the crazed gleam of hunger. Crimson as the sky.

By then, most of the others had arrived, and pushed the raging corpse to the ground, pinning it with their collective weight. They barely hung on as it thrashed and moaned, its fingers still knotted in Moira's hair. Lee worked to pry them off, finally snapping the bones enough for the damaged woman to pull away, leaving several curly locks behind, blood and tears and spit oozing from her face as she crab-walked back.

“He's not human anymore,” Raksha announced. “Moira, I'm sorry, but we'll have to kill it.”

Moira could not answer, screaming behind her hands.

Lee himself was the one to kneel at the creature's head. It was whipping back and forth, emitting growls, howls, and groans which chilled everyone to the bone. The group leader pushed down on its forehead with a knee and a hand, while he felt for a pulse on the neck with the other. Seconds went by. He kept repositioning his hand, trying again and again.

“No pulse,” he announced. “This is a zombie.” He stood, drew Ryu-no-Kiba, and brought the blade down with full power, hacking diagonally through the face and head, splitting the skull and the brain. Dark blood only barely oozed, having no heartbeat to drive it, and the body twitched spasmodically for several seconds, before it fell still again.

Moira was inconsolable, wailing hysterically, kneeling over, rocking up and down. Raksha knelt in front of her, rubbing her back. “It wasn't twice,” she whispered, futile as it may have been, “I know it's too early to say this, but it wasn't twice, Moira. And he didn't do anything to you. Whatever caused this, it wasn't him, and he only left once in your arms.” The blond woman managed to nod once. “It still hurts like hell,” Raksha continued, “so take your time. We're here for you.”

Everyone looked between the heartbreaking scene, and the re-slain corpse.

“...Zombies now?” Jason snarled, voice quivering as his hands were, “Fucking ZOMBIES now?!”

“...Why did this happen?” asked Chad, “...How did this happen?!”

“Was it because he was bitten by those creatures?” wondered one of the Shadows with some visible black hair and black eyes.

“It hasn't happened to the rest of us who are wounded...” Lee observed, “We will have to be watchful to make sure it remains that way...” He looked down at the corpse, brow furrowed, before closing his eyes. “Kuso...” Then he sighed and turned toward Moira. “Raksha, how bad is the damage?”

The woman lifted the others' face gently, and her brow narrowed and twitched as she revealed the condition of the blond's face. Large chunks were missing from both her upper and lower lip, making her teeth and gums visible, and her chin was torn down to the muscle.

Lee looked around at the others. None of them were as proficient in medicine as he was. But he had just been the one to re-kill the woman's beloved... His head lowered.

Chad could read him like a book. “Boss... She needs your help. We can worry about the rest later.”

“We can worry about everything later,” a young female guard with light blue hair announced, “Something's coming!”

Everyone took in the sight of a human form stumbling toward them from a distance. From the other side, another. A few more from the north. Still more from the south. Dozens slowly pushing their way up from below the ground, their long shadows making their hands and heads visible long before the rest of their bodies emerged from their ancient graves.

The mercenaries slowly closed into a ring around the wounded and the non-combatants, facing the stumbling, limping, crawling forms. Not one of them did not shiver as they heard their guttural growls, scratchy screeches, and hoarse howls. What these beings were was clear, surreal yet vivid.

“...They have no circulation, right?” Edwin checked from a tentative position between the defenders and the defended.
“Correct,” answered Lee, his sword drawn, eyes focusing on the creatures approaching from his side.
“Then my pen is useless,” the treasurer sighed, moving to the center of the formation.
“The poison, perhaps,” Lee agreed, “but not the instrument. Take notes of this and all that has taken place so far, while there's still light. We must have accurate record of what has transpired so far.”
The man blinked, then took on a look of determination as he dug into his briefcase, and began to write furiously in his notebook.

“I'll take care of Moira,” Chad said, “at least as well as I can.” He set to work on re-opening the first-aid kit, trusting his back to those surrounding him.

“We must hold our ground,” Lee ordered to the rest, “Do not give, do not step too far forward. If you must move, return to the position you started from the moment you can. We are the perimeter. Do not expect normally fatal hits to work; they must be decapitated or incapacitated. Are you prepared?”
“YES, SIR!” everyone answered in unison.
“Take them as they come,” Lee commanded. Everyone stood at ready. One man in a brown coat began firing his pistol, which had been too risky in the sewer before. He took out a couple of the still-distant beings in four shots.

“I have eighteen bullets left,” he announced, “plus twelve for my shotgun. I'll save those and four shots for later. Call me to any side I'm needed worst on.”
“Over here then, Conrad,” Raksha answered, “There's a pretty big crowd that'll need thinned before we deal with them.
“Moving there now,” Conrad answered, sliding behind the others and taking up position, knocking down four more with four more shots, cycling around to thin further crowds.

Soon, he reached his limit, and moved back to load his sawed-off shotgun as those with melee weapons watched the remaining scores of creatures close in. It slowly became apparent that most of them were clad in the tattered rags of much older clothing. Some in the remains of uniforms from past armies. Many held rusted blades in their bony hands, raising them to bear as they shuffled closer. A few long-gone soldiers were raising rusted firearms, aiming at the group, and pulling the triggers, the weapons clicking futilely, their functionality long gone, the stocks rotted away and the ammunition useless.

“They're from the War...” the muscular man with a pitchfork observed, clenching his thick jaw in both disgust and sorrow.

In the hard, crimson, directional light of the sun fading below the horizon, every grotesque detail of the zombies could now be seen. Some were dragging long-broken limbs. Some were missing fingers, or hands, or one or both legs. Some had mummified entrails hanging from their bodies and dragging trails in the dust. Red light shone from their otherwise void eye sockets, slowly overtaking the same tone of light that was fading from the sky, replacing it amidst the coming blackness.

“HYAAAAAAAAAH!!!!” rang out the cries of determination as the Dragon's Claws began to strike at the waves of undead.

************

The sun is setting.
The dead are rising.
This time of evening
Is time for mourning.
Mankind's most uttered wish
Has been fulfilled,
And of this
Do we cry.

[/i]

[Sephiroth X]

*The undead blanket the desert of the dead for miles on end. As Valtiel’s power slips further under the sand, corroding any once living entity with second life, it reaches something that none of the undead or Valtiel himself may have anticipated. A single corpse becomes reanimated under the desert sand, it’s awakening causing a very small brief tremor in the immediate area.

*Deep within Midgar the monster Valtiel sat atop the ledge of a building. Hodia was at his side as Valtiel watched over Midgar like a demonic guardian. While he was physically watching over Midgar, his power was tied into every one of the undead that he rose from the desert creating a makeshift network covering miles out from Midgar. Valtiel would know anything approaching Midgar instantly. Because of this outstretch of power Valtiel himself could sense the body that just awoke deep under the desert sand, this one in particular caught his interest and even surprised him to a small level.

Valtiel – Aaaaaahahaha! You’ve got to be kidding me!

*Valtiel pushed himself off the ledge of the building and fell to the sidewalk a few stories below, leaving a small indentation in the pavement as he landed. He then paced out towards the center of the nearest street and turned to face the desert and the source of this newly awoken discovery. A few moments later Hodia came sliding down the side of the building and cautiously approached her master.

Hodia – What is it?

Valtiel – If today were my birthday, this would definitely be my present.

*Back in the desert, the reanimated corpse slowly began moving underneath the sand. Despite returning to life, it did not have the strength to overcome the weight of the sand atop it.

Valtiel – It appears I’ve stumbled upon an unexpected bonus, something that was amongst the dead.

*Valtiel tilted his head slightly as he was amused that this discovery, despite its great potential strength, couldn’t even escape the sand under its own power.

Hodia – Hm? What did you find?

Valtiel – Something that needs a little boost of my own strength to turn it into exactly what I hoped it would be…

*Valtiel extended his hand outwards and pointed towards the street. The tip of his finger began to glow, almost as if it was heating up, before a small bolt of orange energy discharged from it like lightning. The surge of energy ran into the ground and illuminated the surface like a trapped firefly as it traveled towards the desert at amazing speed.

Valtiel – The woman… Catrina… she claimed that she has a direct link to something that would be very handy. Well, I think I’ve found something that may be even more direct than she…

*The surge of energy continued it’s fast travel as it left Midgar and traveled under the desert sand, taking a direct route to the corpse stuck under the sand.

Hodia – What would that be?

*The energy Valtiel discharged reached the point were the corpse laid trapped and was absorbed by the creature immediately, causing the ground to rumble.

Valtiel – Cayne…

*The zombies on the surface began to distance themselves a few feet from the epicenter of the rumbling as Valtiel’s new discovery began making its way to the surface.

Hodia – Cayne?

Valtiel – I can hear his memories speak to me... Cayne, member of the family of the Archangel... Brother of Azriel... However many may have known Cayne by a more formal name he lived under…

Hodia – Mmm?

*Valtiel couldn’t resist holding back a small laugh.

Valtiel – The Last Warrior of Prosperity…

*Out in the desert the ground ceased its rumbles. A split second later a rotting hand shot out from the desert sand that was rippling in Valtiel’s power while a teal colored steam rose upwards into the air.

---

((OOC: Reference the second post of Element of Prosperity Chapter 9 - A Single Line of Darkness))

[Sephiroth X]

*On the other side of the world, in the heart of the Super City, officials and emergency crews observed and evaluated damage that had recently torn apart a small area. Roads were being cleared of debris and news reporters were gathering at close but safe distances.

Reports are coming in from city officials that the damage resulted in some injuries but no fatalities have yet to be reported…

*Firefighters were storming damaged buildings making sure no civilians were trapped nor weren’t fires burning within the buildings. Police officials were walking through nearby housings and buildings making sure everybody was fine there as well.

Rescue officers on the scene informed Channel 11 news that the sizeable damaged occurred primarily in a section of the city that was under construction, thus lessening the potential loss of life.

*Just a few yards away from a group of reporters, a mass of officers had gathered discussing what could have caused such sudden damage.

While no official word has been given on the cause of this sudden catastrophe, multiple news outlets have received this amateur photographers filming during the event.

*Local stations covering the event showed the recording on their respective stations. While the camera was shaky and blurry, two distinct human figures could be seen in the darkened sky doing battle; one with long hair and a thin katana while the other wielded a thicker broadsword like weapon.

Unconfirmed rumors regarding this disaster hint that one of the two people caught on this tape could in fact be the individual Senate officials refer to as “Sephiroth X”, the same individual who caused a similar ruckus roughly a month or two ago in the central Super City.

*One television station replayed recordings of Sephiroth X’s battle against Dark Crono to show comparisons between that event and this one.

Some political groups and religious extremists even believe that this individual is the “Warrior of Prosperity” according to folklore.

*Miles away from the wreckage, an industrial building that was closed for the day had a guest resting inside the top floor. The top floor was a single massive room used for storage as dusty boxes littered the edge of the room. Power was shutdown in the building providing pitch-blackness to the room that was broken by a single small skylight at the far end of the room. Sitting in a plain metal chair directly under the skylight sat a man who’s face was half covered by darkness as he looked down to the floor, his silver hair being the only part of his head that was visible. His arms were at rest at his side with his massive katana on the floor beside him. Small puddles of dry blood were gathered near the base of the chair and a faint quiet breathing could be heard.

*The green eyes of Sephiroth X illuminated faintly, standing out amongst the blackness covering his face. With a slight groan, Seph leaned back into the chair and looked up into the skylight. His face still had thin black lines extending out from his eyes, but not nearly to the level they were during his fight with Claude, and small trails of dry blood remained on his face. The fight with Claude took more out of X then he could have possibly anticipated.

Sephiroth X – How… does that boy have such strength within him…

*X cringed again in pain slightly as his hands curled into fists for a moment before returning to rest again.

Sephiroth X – But… despite this… I should have been able push him aside regardless of how tough he was… Why isn’t this power giving me what I need…?

*Seph very slowly shook his head in confusion as he continued to stare up into the skylight.

Sephiroth X – Is this power… the right way to go…? Is it the right path?

*As these thoughts ran through his mind, the black lines on his face began to whither and fade slightly.

Sephiroth X – And what I said to Zack… Eliminate those who would fight Fallen…? What was I thinking it’s… not me.

*After a few more moments of thought, the Warrior of Prosperity frowned in frustration and the dark effects on him appeared just as fast as they faded.

Sephiroth X – No... What I was doing has to be the right thing… I have to be on the right path!

*X’s thoughts remembered one specific thing that Claude said near the end of their battle.

Sephiroth X – But what about Catrina?…

*The dark effects started to fade again, however all of his thoughts were quickly interrupted as an odd sensation ran through his body. X’s sixth sense peeked for a moment as he sensed something strong enough to widen his eyes, make him gasp, and shoot into an upright position in his chair. Seph looked around the room for a moment, not looking for anything particular but rather evaluation what he momentarily sensed.

Sephiroth X – What… what was that? It… felt like thousands of silenced voices suddenly woke from a horrid nightmare… like they screamed to me in unison…

*A second sensation slammed into Seph a moment later, causing X to grasp his chest for a moment as if something was torn within him.

Sephiroth X – I… What… I can’t… I can’t figure… figure out what’s happening… It feels like my powers are fading… but at the same time feels like they’re fighting to stay.

*What Sephiroth X couldn’t tell was that the Element of Prosperity was both warning him and fighting between two things; trying to stay with its current master or return to its former. X leaned down, picked up the Masamune, and stood up to begin walking towards the exit of the room.

Sephiroth X – Something’s happened and it’s definitely not right…

*As X left the room, he could only confirm one thing... he needed to return to the Desert of the Dead.

[Sephiroth X]

*The Senator stood in his suite in the top floor of the central Zion tower looking over his city for a moment. His room was dimly lit; the only light illuminating the room came from the window. A distant hum could be heard from the other side of the room emanating from the elevator shaft; someone was on their way to him. The Senator turned away from the window, facing the elevator shaft. Directly in front of The Senator sat a table with numerous objects laid out upon it; small handguns, daggers, a protective vest, and his Hades katana, all objects he pulled from his personal weapons locker and laid out himself as if planning for a fight.

Ding!

*The elevator doors opened and the silhouette of Leon, the Apprentice, was seen walking into the room and towards The Senators table.

The Senator – Lights. Low illumination.

*A central panel of lights activated in the room, dimly lighting the room.

Leon – I was told that you requested a helicopter?

*The Senator nodded and began inspecting each of his weapons.

Leon – Specifically, an attack helicopter with only a handful of troops and no escort aircraft?

The Senator – I’m glad in all this time you’ve learned to read, my friend. We are trying to keep Zion at maximum guard… no need sending out more soldiers only to play chaperone.

*The Senator smirked, but the Apprentice did not take warmly to his leader’s sarcasm.

Leon – And why did you not inform me of this?

The Senator – Because I figured you would be scanning through all of my command logs and communications again… Glad to know I was right.

*Leon observed the weapons sprawled out in front of him.

Leon – And obviously you are not going for just some walk in the desert, are you?

*The Senator rubbed his sleeve against one of his pistols for a moment to brush off some dust before holstering it; he then reached to the side of the table and grabbed his katana.

The Senator – My friend, it seems that life throws things at me that, even at my age, I do not expect.

*The Senator unsheathed his katana, Hades, slightly and observed the blade. Areas of the weapon were glowing a faint green color, areas that were once soaked with the blood of the previous Warrior of Prosperity.

Leon – And… what is it that you did not expect?

*Silently, the Senator thought about the long but not forgotten past battle against the last Warrior of Prosperity. It was that battle that turned the tide of the 200 Year War and ultimately established The Senate.

The Senator – That life would, in a way, come full circle for me… except with an interesting twist.

*The Apprentice looked at The Senator for a few moments, but was silently confused.

The Senator – The twist being that just over a century ago I was the monster and he was the ”hero”… now my curiosity makes me question whether or not the roles have been reversed. Regardless though, something out there has happened and I can simply feel it.

Leon – And it’s something that warrants you putting your own life on the line

The Senator - …Yes.

Leon – Sir, please try and explain this to me.

The Senator – It’s hard to explain… What little bits of the Element of Prosperity that are within me are calling out to me, like something’s trying to talk to me. If what I think has happened is indeed true… then an old foe may very well be back.

Leon – An old foe?

The Senator - …Cayne, his name… it was Cayne.

Leon – Cayne? I’m sorry I’m not following.

The Senator – The last Warrior of Prosperity, the one I killed when I was in your shoes. And if he is somehow back, then it means our little Monster of Midgar might be trying to spread his power beyond the confines of that city.

*The Senator strapped his katana to his belt and let it dangle at his side. The Senator then walked to a pillar in the room and activated an intercom.

The Senator - Ready the attack helicopter and prep the crew for immediate dust off. I’m on my way down, now.

*The Senator turned towards his Apprentice and spoke one last thing before walking towards the elevator.

The Senator – Leon, remember this and remember it clearly; personal matters need to be dealt with personally. Always.